Container



March 30, 1937. c. B. KILMER CONTAINER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 25, 1935 March 30, 1937. c. B. KILMER CONTAINER Filed Oct. 25, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar; 30, 1937 CONTAINER Charles B. Kilmer, River Forest, 111., assignor to Container Corporation of America, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Application October 25, 1935, Serial No. 46,645

1 Claim.

This invention relates to fibreboard or paperboard shipping containers and more particularly to containers for transporting bottled goods.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved fibreboard or paperboard shipping container having an integrally formed, reinforced closure adapted to give suflicient rigidity to the top of the container to permit the container to be used for relatively heavy goods, such as bottled beverages, without requiring the closure to be permanently secured at the top of the container whereby the container is adapted to be reused a number of times. I

Another object of the invention is to provide a 15 pair of cooperating, reinforced closure panels for the container and to so construct the panels as to prevent raw edges of the board from being exposed at places where the wear is greatest.

Another object of the invention is to form the end walls of the container with slots or notches to receive flanges formed on the closure panels and at the same time permit the under surfaces of the closure to rest directly upon and to be supported by the upper edges of the end walls.

Another object of the invention is to reinforce the meeting edges of the closure panels by form-' ing on each closure panel a flange with an extension thereon capable of being bent over against the flange to provide for a double thickness of material at this point and at the same time prevent raw edges of the flanges from being exposed.

Another object of the invention is to form the flanges on the cooperating closure members so that the flanges can be received in slots of minimum width formed in the end wall of the container.

To these and other ends the invention resides in certain,improvements and combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claim at the end of the specification.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the container 45 of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line '2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional View taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a view of the booy blank of the container; and,

Fig. 5 is a view of the end wall blank of the container.

Similar reference numerals throughout the 55 several views indicate the same parts.

to be weakened by the chafing that would result if The present invention, as herein disclosed, is embodied in a fibreboard container particularly designed for the packing and transportation of bottled beverages, such as beer. The container in the present instance is illustrated as comprising a fibreboard body blank 6 and end blanks I. See particularly Figs. 1, 4 and 5. The body blank 6 provides a bottom panel 8, side panels 9, 9 and closure panels 10, I0. Attaching flaps II and I2, l2 are provided at both sides of the 10 body blank and are carried respectively on the bottom and side walls. In setting up the box these attaching flaps are secured, as by means of staples, to the end walls I, I, see Fig. 1.

The closure panels I0, Ill are preferably provided with downturned flanges and for this purpose flaps 13, I3 are formed at each end respectively of the closure panels l0, l0 and flaps l4, 14 are formed along the longitudinal edges of each closure panel Ill. The flap 14 carries an extension 15 which may be folded back and secured to the rear face of the flap H to provide a reinforcing flange on the closure panels along the meeting edges thereof. v

In order to jointhe flaps or flanges l3 and 14 there is provided on each flap or flange l3 a corner extension or flap l6 which is adapted to fold inwardly to lie between the flap or flange l4 and its extended portion l5, see particularly Figs. 1 and 3.

For the purpose of permitting the closure panels to lie flat on the top edges of the end walls I, 1', the end walls are preferably notched or slottedas indicated at I1, [1. These notches or slots H, as shownin Fig. 3, are only required to be of such; a width as to receive the flanges of s the closure flap'suat the juncture of the extenpreferably cutaway at an inclination, as indicated at l8, l8. The slots I! are made of a depth somewhat greater than the height of the flanges l3, l3 and the extensions l6, Hi thereon so that cutting or wearing of one raw edge on another will be avoided with the consequence that the danger of tearing is minimized as would be the case if any point along the flanges or the end wall were the raw edgescame in contact with each other.

Where the container is to be employed as a carrying case for bottles finger openings I 9, l9 are preferably employed to facilitate handling of the container.

When the container is to be set up it is only necessary to staple the flaps on the body blank to the end blank as illustrated after which the flaps or flanges l3 and I4 are bent'over at right angles to the closure panels withthe extension I6 against the inner-faces of the flanges M. The extensions I5 are then bent over against the inner-faces of the flanges I4 to enclose the extensions l6 within the two thicknesses thus formed. The parts l4 and I5 may then be stapled together with certain of the staples also passing through the extensions l6 thus holding same in place and maintaining the flange I3 in fixed relation to the closure panel.

The container, when set up as described, is ready for use and the closure flaps or the panels may then be moved to closed position as indicated at the left hand end of Fig. 1. Due to the depth' of the slots N there will be no tendency of the flanges to become chafed or split at the juncture of the extension I6 and fl'ange I 3. Likewise the end wall will not be weakened in use as the flanges do not engage the bottom of the slot.

By providing the closure flaps with reinforced flanges as herein illustrated the container is given considerable rigidity at the top thereof even though the closure is not permanently secured thereon by any securing means. This flange construction also serves to reduce the tendency of the container being distorted from a rectangular form. By supporting the cover flaps at their ends on the upper edges of the end wall any pressure imposed upon the container, as by stacking the containers one upon the other, is distributed substantially uniformly along all of the top edges of the vertical walls so that the containers may be readily stacked. The container is preferably made of such a height that when packed with filled bottles of beverage the intermediate portions of the closure will be supported upon the tops of the bottles. When thus filled cases of bottles may be readily stacked one upon the other without tending to distort the vertical walls due to the fact that the major portion of the weight of superimposed cases is transmitted directly to the bottles on the underlying cases.

It is apparent that the container may be readily opened to insert bottles therein and to remove bottles, therefrom and, by reason of the facility with which the closure panels are raised and lowered, only a negligible amount of wear will result due to the fact that the contacting line between the closure is limited to contact between the reinforced flanges l4, It.

The rounded free edges of the flanges l4 facilitate the insertion of one closure panel in the event the other closure panel has been previously moved to a closed position. The feature of cutting away the corners at the upper edges of the tive and not restrictive, reference being had to v the appended claim rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

A shipping container comprising a bottom, side walls and end walls, a closure for the container, said closure comprising a pair of cooperating panels hinged respectively to the upper edges of the side Walls and meeting along substantially the center line of the container when in closed position, flap extensions at the ends and meeting sides of the closure panels adapted to be folded at right angles to the panels to form downturned flanges, extensions on the end flaps at the corners of the closure panels, means securing such extensions to the longitudinal flanges on the closure, each longitudinal flange having an extended edge thereon folded inwardly of the panel, being secured on the inner face of the said flange and embracing the inturned flap extension on the end flanges, the end walls of the container being provided with slots to receive the inturned flap extensions on the flanges at the ends of the closure panels, said slots being of a depth greater than the height of the flange and extension whereby the under surfaces of the closure panels will rest directly upon the upper edges of the end walls the length of the extended edge on the longitudinal flange of the closure being such that the ends of said extended edge will lie within the confines of the end walls of the container whereby the ends of the extended edge portion do not enter the slots and the width of the slots isminimized.

CHARLES B. KILMER. 

